GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jul 30, 2026
Peace obligation
When a union such as ver.di wants to call a strike during ongoing wage negotiations, it must first respect the peace obligation (Friedenspflicht): as long as a collective agreement is in force or an agreed negotiation period is running, neither the union nor the employers' association may take industrial action such as strikes or lockouts.
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Source: Frachtportal News: "Deutsche Seehäfen: Warnstreiks ab 31. Juli möglich"
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Definition & Explanation
When a union such as ver.di wants to call a strike during ongoing wage negotiations, it must first respect the peace obligation (Friedenspflicht): as long as a collective agreement is in force or an agreed negotiation period is running, neither the union nor the employers' association may take industrial action such as strikes or lockouts. The peace obligation gives both sides planning certainty and allows negotiations to proceed without the threat of immediate action. It ends automatically once the agreement or agreed deadline expires, after which warning strikes generally become permissible. For freight forwarders and shippers, the end of the peace obligation is an important early warning signal: operational risk for ports, terminals, and feeder traffic rises noticeably even before any strike is formally announced. Not to be confused with the warning strike itself, which only becomes possible once the peace obligation has expired.
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